Eran ud Turan – what’s in a name?

Eran ud Turan is an historical living history society with a focus on the history of the Near East, Central Asia and South Asia, spanning classical antiquity to the medieval era.

Eran ud Turan was born in 2013 and finally became a reality in the summer of 2014. It is the brainchild of Nadeem Ahmad and Amir Askari Yahyavi, a pair of historians and academics specialising in ancient Iran, India, and Central Asia who decided to present their research in a somewhat different way.

Since its birth, Eran ud Turan has performed at a number of reenactment events and museum events and brings the worlds of Iran, India, and Central Asia in late antiquity to life.

We are currently the world’s only living history group dedicated to this part of the world and this time period. We work closely with academics, specialists, and historians to make sure that our research and reconstructions are as true to the period as possible, working directly from the original sources. We have received excellent feedback from world experts on the quality of our reconstructions. We offer an engaging and highly interactive display to bring to life the worlds of the Sasanian Persians, the Sogdians, Tokharians, Gokturks, Kucheans, and other peoples and cultures inhabiting the Silk Road in the late antique / early medieval period.

To book us for an event, to find out about joining our group, for any questions or comments, or for any reason you would like to get in touch, please do email us using the form below.

Eran ud Turan is a proud member of Anjoman.

Living History

The living history encampment is the heart of our display, decorated with Persian and Central Asian carpets and textiles, historic foods, games, and armour and weapons stands. We often put up posters and signs for people to read, to introduce them to the period and artefacts and are always on hand to engage with the public.

Militaria

We showcase arms, armour, and military culture from Central Asia, Iran, and the Silk Road with extreme care and attention to detail. We demonstrate the influence of Central Asian military technology on eastern and western styles, and display the evolution of Iranian and Central Asian military equipment over time. Additionally, Asiatic archery is a particular specialty of ours using equipment replicated from finds and iconography.

Cuisine

Persia has one of the finest dining traditions, and this was no different in the late antique and early medieval periods. We reconstruct historical foods from textual, iconographic, and archaeological sources to add some flavour to our displays and host regular, opulent banquets in historic fashion.

Numismatics

Images on coins are essential for undestanding the past. We have a large collection of period coins which we let visitors handle. Additionally, visitors may have the chance to try striking their own coin of the period as a memento of their visit.

Writing systems

The Sogdian language was the lingua franca of trade across Central Asia throughout late antiquity and the early medieval period. Learn about the intricacies of writing this language and take home a sample of your own handwriting, in which we can instruct you. We use only historically accurate writing implements and media.

Physical culture

Iran, India, and Central Asia boasts one of the oldest gym cultures in the world, and we have strong evidence of zurkhaneh style workouts in our period. We are proud to be able to replicate a period gym and display our skills with the weights – a very different school of physical culture from modern lifting. Get in touch if this is something you are intersted in!